Bessie  B.  jFarrac. 


[From  Missionary  Tidings,  April,  1898.] 

In  the  beautiful  city  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  Bes¬ 
sie  Bolling  Farrar  was  born  November  6,  1872. 
The  home  of  her  parents,  John  William  D.  Far¬ 
rar  and  Virginia  Carter  Farrar,  was  made  very 
bright  by  the  presence  of  their  little  sunbeam. 
Having  consecrated  her  to  the  Lord  from  in¬ 
fancy,  the  loving  mother  sought,  day  by  day, 
to  teach  this  little  one  the  sweet  lessons  of 
Jesus. 

When  she  was  quite  a  little  girl  her  parents 
moved  to  Richmond,  Va.,  where  she  spent  the 
first  seven  or  eight  years  of  her  life.  About 
that  time  her  father’s  business  took  him  to 
Manchester,  and  here  the  most  important  days 
of  her  young  life  were  spent. 

Every  Sunday  she  and  her  little  sister,  two 
years  younger,  would  trudge  over  the  long 
bridge  leading  from  Manchester  to  the  Seventh 
Street  Christian  Church  in  Richmond,  talking 
along  the  way  about  their  library  books. 

At  last  the  time  came  when  she  felt  that  she 
must  give  herself  to  the  Savior;  so  the  two  sis¬ 
ters  talked  it  over,  and  together  they  knelt  to 


ask  the  guidance  of  their  Father  in  Heaven, 
and  then  both  decided  to  go  forward  the  fol¬ 
lowing  Lord’s  Day  to  make  their  confession. 

So  in  dear  old  Seventh  Street  Church  “Our 
Bessie”  gave  her  heart  to  Jesus  when  she  was 
twelve  years  old.  Ever  since  that  time  she  has 
been  faithful  in  His  service. 

At  this  time  she  was  deeply  impressed  with 
the  great  need  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen.  One  day,  after  she  had  attended  the 
C.  W.  B.  M.  meeting  with  her  mother,  I  found 
in  her  drawer  these  words:  “I  have  conse¬ 
crated  myself  to  the  Lord  to  carry  the  Gospel 
to  the  heathen,  and  will  make  it  my  life  work, 
if  I  am  thirty  before  I  can  prepare  myself  to 
go.” 

When  she  was  fourteen  her  parents  moved 
back  to  Richmond  so  that  they  could  give  their 
children  better  educational  advantages.  Not 
being  very  strong,  her  loved  ones  feared  her 
great  desire  to  study  and  improve  every  oppor¬ 
tunity  would  seriously  injure  her  health,  but 
“Our  Bessie”  felt  that  she  must  improve  every 
moment  and  would  not  give  up.  Finally  her 
health  broke  down  under  the  mental  strain  and 
tax  on  her  eyes,  one  of  which  gave  her  very 
serious  trouble  at  that  time.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  day  I  came  home  from  school  and 
found  a  napkin  on  the  door,  and  saw  the  anxi¬ 
ous  faces  of  the  neighbors  who  met  me  in  the 
hall  and  told  me  that  my  darling  sister  was  ill 
from  an  operation  which  had  been  performed 
on  her  eye.  She  had  been  having  convulsions 
all  day,  one  after  the  other.  I  could  hear  her 


praying,  oh!  so  earnestly,  that  the  dear  Lord 
would  not  take  her  until  she  could  go  to  India 
to  give  those  sad  people  the  glad  msssage  of  a 
risen  Lord.  Her  prayers  were  answered  and 
her  dear  life  was  spared.  After  her  recovery, 
she  resumed  her  studies  and  continued  at  the 
Richmond  high  school  until  the  fall  of  ’91, 
when  the  way  was  made  ready  for  her  to  go  to 
Bethany  College  to  prepare  for  her  life  work. 

Here,  I  am  sure,  some  of  her  happiest  days 
have  been  spent.  Although  she  was  always 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  she  could 
start  for  her  far-off  mission,  she  knew  how  to 
improve  every  opportunity  for  doing  good 
around  her,  and  seemed  to  live  in  her  daily^  life 
those  beautiful  words  of  Miss  Havergal’s,  of 
which  she  is  so  fond: 

“Just  to  let  tliy  Father  do  what  He  will, 

Just  to  know  that  He  is  true,  and  be  still ; 

Just  to  follow  Him,  hour  by  hour,  as  He  leadeth, 
Just  to  draw  the  moment’s  power  as  it  needeth  ; 
Just  to  trust  Him,  this  is  all ; 

Then  the  day  will  surely  be 
Peaceful,  whatsoe’er  befall, 

Bright  and  blessed,  calm  and  free.” 

In  the  summer  of  ’94  she  graduated.  Then 
came  the  sad  parting  with  loved  friends. 

At  our  National  Convention,  held  in  Rich¬ 
mond  in  the  fall  of  ’94,  it  was  decided  that  she 
should  go  to  Deoghur,  India,  in  response  to  the 
earnest  appeal  from  dear  Miss  Adam  for  more 
helpers.  “Our  Bessie”  rejoiced  that  she  had 
been  called  to  this  the  darkest  spot  in  India. 

October  4,  1895,  she  bade  farewell  to  the  dear 
loved  ones  in  the  home  in  Danville,  Va.,  where 


her  parents  had  moved  while  she  was  in  col¬ 
lege.  For  Christ’s  sake  she  was  willing  to 
leave  them  and  go  into  far-away  India  to  lift 
the  banner  of  our  Lord — not  because  she  loved 
her  dear  ones  any  less,  but  because  she  loved 
her  Savior  far  more. 

On  October  19,  in  company  with  the  Drs.  Mil¬ 
ler  and  Miss  Spradlin,  she  turned  her  face  to¬ 
ward  India’s  coral  strand.  How  lovingly  our 
Father  has  watched  over  her  during  the  years 
of  her  labor  in  that  dark  country! 

Now  “Our  Bessie”  has  just  reached  the 
twenty-fifth  mile-stone  of  her  earthly  pilgrim¬ 
age,  and  this  is  the  message  which  comes  from 
her  far-away  home: 

“To-day  I  come  to  the  quarter-century  mile¬ 
stone  along  life’s  journey.  I  wanted  to  stop 
and  look  at  it  and  dream  about  all  those  twen¬ 
ty-five  miles  I  have  come,  but  no!  They  tell 
me  that  no  one  can  stop  in  this  journey — every 
moment  must  find  us  nearer  the  next  stone.  I 
would  have  asked  about  the  road  for  this  com¬ 
ing  mile,  but  I  would  only  have  been  told  that 
only  as  I  take  the  steps  can  I  know.  I  can  tell 
that  the  way  points  up  hill,  but  that  is  all.  I 
have  a  Guide  whom  I  trust.  He  has  led  me  all 
the  way  so  far,  and  has  promised  to  lead  me  till 
I  reach  Home.  He  is  very  faithful  and  very 
gentle.  There  is  none  like  Him.  So  the  com¬ 
ing  mile  must  be  a  happy  one  so  long  as  I  fol¬ 
low  closely.”  Birdie  Farrar  Omer. 

Published  by  the  Christian  Woman’s  Board  of  Mis¬ 
sions,  152  E.  Market  St.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  March,  1900. 
One  cent  each  ;  ten  cents  per  dozen. 


